The present invention relates to a teartape bearing discrete marks, and to a method of applying such marks to packaged articles, and is concerned particularly, although not exclusively, with a teartape bearing discrete fiscal marks, such as “tax-paid” certifications, and to a method of applying such marks to packaged articles.
Fiscal markers, such as “tax-paid” stamps, are applied to articles to demonstrate that duty has been paid on such articles by, for example, the manufacturer. The storage of and access to such marks and their application to products must be carefully controlled to ensure that articles for which no duty has been paid may not be wrongly packaged as “duty paid” or similar. Furthermore, the marks themselves must be relatively complex so as to be difficult to reproduce by would-be counterfeiters.
An example of a product which may require a fiscal mark is a packet of cigarettes. A given country may levy a tax duty on cigarettes, whilst a neighbouring country may not, or may levy a lesser duty. To be able to distinguish between the packets which have been manufactured and packaged in accordance with a required duty, from those which have been packaged illegally in the country of interest or imported from another country, a sophisticated fiscal mark appropriate to the country of manufacture or intended sale is applied to each legitimate pack. In the prior art, the mark is in the form of a paper label, which is gummed and made to adhere to the surface of e.g. the cigarette pack, usually on the rear thereof. The supply and use of such labels may be controlled by an authorised body such as Customs and Excise. The labels themselves contain complex printed images, which it is hoped are difficult to reproduce by a would-be counterfeiter.
However, there are several disadvantages with the known fiscal marks and their method of application.
Firstly, the marks, being paper labels, are not so difficult for a counterfeiter to reproduce as is desirable. Secondly, automated application for example to cigarette packs is difficult to achieve at high speeds and with minimal rejection. In particular, each individual label must have wet glue applied to it, before it is pressed against a packet of cigarettes.
This process produces an unacceptably high number of misplaced or inadequately adhered labels, and frequently causes the packaging machinery to become jammed or gummed, all of which leads to “down time” in the packaging process.
Thus-there is a requirement for a method of applying fiscal marks to articles, at high speed, with improved reliability and security against counterfeiting.